Logan Paul, a YouTube star, has apologised after publishing a video that appeared to show the body of a suicide victim.

The video, shot in Aokigahara Forest, Japan, was later taken down after some of his 15million subscribers expressed their concerns over the recording.

Mr Paul said he was "misguided by shock and awe" before posting the video which showed the vlogger and his friends discovering a dead body in the forest - which is known to be a frequent site of suicides.

Writing on Twitter, Paul, who has more than 15 million subscribers on YouTube , said his intention was to "raise awareness for suicide and suicide prevention".

Logan Paul

He wrote: "This is a first for me. I've never faced criticism like this before, because I've never made a mistake like this before. I'm surrounded by good people and believe I make good decisions, but I'm still a human being. I can be wrong."

The 22-year-old from Ohio, who is the older brother of former Disney star Jake Paul, added he "didn't do it for views" saying: "I did it because I thought I could make a positive ripple on the internet, not cause a monsoon of negativity. That's never the intention.

"I intended to raise awareness for suicide and suicide prevention and while I thought 'if this video saves just ONE life, it'll be worth it', I was misguided by shock and awe, as portrayed in the video. I still am."

Online comments have called the video "sickening" with celebrities including Sophie Turner and Aaron Paul taking to Twitter to lash out on Logan Paul.

The Game Of Thrones actress called the YouTuber "an idiot" while Aaron Paul, who starred in TV crime drama Breaking Bad, told Logan to "rot in hell".

Turner wrote on Twitter: "@LoganPaul You're an idiot. You're not raising awareness. You're mocking. I can't believe how self-praising your 'apology' is. You don't deserve the success (views) you have. I pray to God you never have to experience anything like that man did."

Aaron Paul added: "How dare you! You disgust me. I can't believe that so many young people look up to you. So sad. Hopefully this latest video woke them up. You are pure trash. Plain and simple. Suicide is not a joke. Go rot in hell."

Others joined in to condemn Logan Paul, with Twitter user Brayden saying: "Paul doesn't deserve his fame, or his following, or his money, or anything. He crossed the line this time."